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Episode 13, Friday 9 May , 2008

Wise Words - Episode 13

Why does the pronunciation for ‘kilometre’ have the accent on the second syllable? Tony, NSW

The word kilometre was the first of these terms to enter English and so it was modified to fit in with the stress patterns of already existing words like barometer and thermometer. Because we’ve now acquired centimetres, millimetres and so on, many also say KI-lometre. (These show a more transparent stress pattern.) The problem is frequent words often do their own thing — typically they don’t conform. Hence, ki-LO-metre with the stress on the second syllable is still for many people the more usual pronunciation. It refuses to fall into line. One other thing, the pronunciation ki-LO-metre actually fits in better with the general trend that is now seeing stress falling more and more on the third last (or antepenultimate) syllable. This is where English appears to be heading in its placement of stress and this will have the effect of reinforcing the pronunciation ki-LO-metre

Could you please explain the origin of the expression ‘to barrack for one’s team’? Judith & Eric, VIC

The origin of ‘to barrack’ is not clear, but the most likely source is a dialectal word meaning ‘to brag, to be boastful of one's fighting’ (from Northern Ireland). In fact, barrack is now a dialectal contranym (a word that is its own opposite). In Australia, it means ‘to shout support for somebody (especially a player or a team)’. In Britain, it means ‘to shout jocular or derisive remarks or words at somebody in criticism or protest’. Both meanings could have evolved out of the original Irish sense.

Another example of a dialectal contranym is chuffed (originally military slang), which means both ‘pleased’ or ‘displeased’, depending on the dialect. Both meanings grew out of the meaning of the adjective chuff meaning ‘swollen or puffed out with fat; chubby’ (1600s) and in the 1800s ‘pleased, satisfied’ (the current meaning in Australia).